Dressing table mirror
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Chelsea Porcelain factory (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Soft-paste porcelain painted with enamels, moulded, engraved and with gilt-metal mounts and brass plaque
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Herbert Allen
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 53a, case 5
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Object Type
The mirror and stand was intended for a lady's dressing table. It was probably the 'Lady's Toilet' offered at auction in 1758. The concave recess at the top of the mirror was probably for a watch movement; at the side and the front are two apertures, possibly for a clockwork movement or musical box.
Trading
Two of these complex mirror stands are known, and both can be identified with descriptions of important lots included in London auctions of Chelsea porcelain. This one was probably the 'Lady's Toilet' of 1758; the other was probably the 'Lady's Toilet with a Looking Glass and Gold Instruments' mentioned in a newspaper notice of 1763. The Chelsea factory aimed at the top end of the market. It sold its wares from the factory premises, from factory-run warehouses in the West End of London, through London ceramics dealers, and at auctions held in London, Dublin and probably elsewhere.
Design & Designing
The mirror was probably designed under the direction of Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771), the manager of the Chelsea porcelain factory and a skilful draughtsman and designer. Writing before 1752, a Swiss painter noted that Sprimont 'supplies or directs the models of everything made at the factory'.
Physical description
Mirror and stand of soft-paste porcelain painted with enamels and with gilt-metal mounts, moulded and with a brass plaque. With four drawers of brass with brass handles in the lower part. At the back is a brass door engraved with a dotted pattern of flowering stems.
[Stand] Stand in the form of a monumental fountain with six scrollwork feet and flowered drapery thrown over the top. In the small depression at the base of the fountain are three ducks and bulrushes in relief. The sides and front of the fountain are moulded with elaborate panelling outlined with gilt scrolls and painted with bouquets and sprays of flowers.
[Mirror] Mirror frame of rococo form and with a border of gilt scrollwork, and a circular recess at the top. The recess is painted outside and inside with bouquets and enclosed by branches of laurel. A pair of billing doves are applied in relief at the top. At the back of the mirror is a brass plaque with a simple chased border. The mirror is made to lean against the stand.
[Drawer] Brass drawer with brass handle.
[Drawer] Brass drawer with brass handle.
[Drawer] Brass drawer with brass handle.
[Drawer] Brass drawer with brass handle.
Place of Origin
Chelsea, England (made)
Date
ca. 1756-1758 (made)
Artist/maker
Chelsea Porcelain factory (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Soft-paste porcelain painted with enamels, moulded, engraved and with gilt-metal mounts and brass plaque
Dimensions
Height: 34 cm, Width: 25 cm, Depth: 21 cm
[Stand] Height: 23.5 cm, Length: 30.5 cm, Width: 21.6 cm
[Mirror] Height: 28.6 cm, Width: 12.5 cm
Descriptive line
Mirror and stand of soft-paste porcelain painted with enamels, with gilt-metal mounts and four drawers of brass, Chelsea Porcelain factory, Chelsea, ca. 1756-1758
Labels and date
British Galleries:
During the late 1750s and 1760s, the Chelsea factory imitated the luxury wares made at Sévres, the royal French porcelain factory. Most of the key personnel at Chelsea were from the Continent. Nicholas Sprimont, the manager, who directed the factory's design and modelling, was from a French-speaking part of Flanders (now Belgium). [27/03/2003]
Materials
Soft-paste porcelain; Brass; Enamels
Techniques
Painted; Moulded; Gilded; Engraved; Mounted
Subjects depicted
Flowers; Scrollwork; Laurel; Doves; Ducks; Bulrush
Categories
Porcelain; Ceramics; Metalwork
Collection code
CER
